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That argument doesn't really hold unless you assume workers can only do one kind of job. If globalization destroys any blue collar & low-end white collar jobs
by mdorazio 7y ago
That argument doesn't really hold unless you assume workers can only do one kind of job. If globalization destroys any blue collar & low-end white collar jobs or depresses wages for them, that's going to depress the entire pool of jobs available to workers who would otherwise have the opportunity to work those jobs instead of minimum wage service jobs.
Put in example form, let's say we have 10 jobs that a group of blue collar and service workers could do in our economy. 3 of them are manufacturing, 5 are service, and 2 are skilled trades. Now 2 of the manufacturing jobs get eaten by globalization. We've still got 10 workers, but now they're competing for 8 jobs, and the 2 that lost their jobs are going to be willing to work for less money because less money is better than being unemployed. We've just depressed wages for the entire group. Meanwhile, of course, the owners of the factory picked up the gain from this entire transaction. Minimum wage doesn't really factor into it because it's an artificial floor that doesn't reflect market supply and demand.